No Federal Mandate

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 22, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ — In May of 2016, the Obama Administration issued sweeping guidelines directing all states to allow students to use bathrooms, locker rooms, and sleeping quarters on overnight trips, according to their gender identity, rather than their biological sex. Today, the Trump Administration rescinded that policy, giving the power back to the states.

The administration’s decision is detailed in a joint letter from the Departments of Education and Justice, reading in part:

“These guidance documents do not, however, contain extensive legal analysis or explain how the position is consistent with the express language of Title IX, nor did they undergo any formal process… In addition, the Departments believe that, in this context, there must be due regard for the primary role of the States and local school districts in establishing educational policy.

“In these circumstances, the Department of Education and the Department of Justice have decided to withdraw and rescind the above-referenced guidance documents in order to further and more completely consider the legal issues involved. The Departments thus will not rely on the views expressed within them.”

Karen England, Privacy For All Spokesperson, shared her view on the latest development, “This is an important first step in providing privacy for all students. What started in California a few years ago, and was shrugged off as a fringe issue, has now become a national dilemma. Now that power has been restored at the state level, it is up to parents, teachers, and concerned citizens to demand privacy for the children of their state.”

The bathroom directive issued by the Obama Administration threatened schools with a revocation of Title IX federal funds if they did not force students into sharing the most intimate facilities with the opposite sex. Privacy for All has maintained that policies that limit bathroom and locker room use to in accordance with your biological sex, do not violate Title IX.

With the Trump Administration rescinding these guidelines, states are now free to assess how this issue directly affects their communities and schools, and find a solution moving forward. Privacy for All maintains that addressing this issue, in any community, should never include mixing the biological sexes in intimate facilities.

We applaud the Trump Administration for the recognition of the unlawful set of guidelines, and their swift action to correct this matter.